It looks like a desert, but each rainy season thousands of crystal-clear blue lagoons appear between these white sand dunes.
About Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses
The Lencois Maranhenses was protected as a national park to safeguard its unique dune-and-lagoon ecosystem, formed where seasonal Atlantic rains fall on a vast field of coastal dunes underlain by impermeable rock. The interplay of abundant rainfall and trapped water creates the seasonal lagoons. The remote park has become one of Brazil's most celebrated natural wonders.
Parque Nacional dos Lencois Maranhenses
The Lencois Maranhenses National Park, in northeastern Brazil, is a surreal landscape of vast white sand dunes dotted with thousands of crystal-clear blue and green lagoons. Though it looks like a desert, the park receives enough seasonal rain to fill the hollows between the dunes with water, creating one of the most extraordinary natural spectacles in South America.
“The Lencois Maranhenses National Park, in northeastern Brazil, is a surreal landscape of vast white sand dunes dotted with thousands of crystal-clear blue and green lagoons.”
Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses, Brazil
A Desert Full of Lagoons
The park's name means 'the bedsheets of Maranhao', for the way the rippling white dunes resemble laid-out linen. Unlike a true desert, the region gets heavy seasonal rainfall, and because a layer of rock beneath traps the water, rainwater pools in the valleys between the dunes to form thousands of freshwater lagoons. Between roughly May and September, after the rains, these lagoons brim with startlingly clear turquoise and emerald water, perfect for swimming amid the white sand.
The Experience
Wandering the park on foot or by 4x4 from the gateway town of Barreirinhas, climbing the white dunes to find hidden turquoise lagoons where you can swim in cool, clear water surrounded by an endless sea of sand. The contrast of brilliant white dunes and vivid blue pools is unforgettable, especially at sunset. Visiting in the right season, when the lagoons are full, is essential to the experience.
Why It Matters
The Lencois Maranhenses is one of the most unusual and beautiful natural landscapes in Brazil and the world, a desert-like expanse that fills with lagoons. Its singular beauty makes it a bucket-list destination and an important protected area showcasing Brazil's extraordinary natural diversity.
Why Visit
A surreal landscape of white sand dunes filled with thousands of crystal-clear blue lagoons, one of Brazil's most extraordinary natural wonders.
Insider Tips
- 1
Visit from about June to September when the lagoons are full.
- 2
Base yourself in Barreirinhas and take a 4x4 tour into the dunes.
- 3
Swim in the clear lagoons between the white dunes.
- 4
Sunset over the dunes and pools is spectacular.
